


Jaded Harmony

by Ribbonshalos



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angel!Mercy, Angst, Blood, F/M, Fluff, Lots of Angst, Mild Gore, Oni Genji, Romance, Violence, demon!genji
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-04
Updated: 2018-04-04
Packaged: 2019-04-18 13:24:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14214087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ribbonshalos/pseuds/Ribbonshalos
Summary: Genji can hardly step close to a mortal without an angel beating their wings in fury and self-righteousness. There is little time for trickery, and even littler time for true works of wickedness.It’s terrible for demons.But he has a plan.A trap even an angel can’t resist.





	Jaded Harmony

On this world, there are many angels. They keep hidden from mortal eyes of course, but they keep it safe with their perfect fingertips and eyes of light. Wings hold their backs as warriors of the heavens. They are perfect beings of kindness and compassion.

They make this world perfectly boring. Genji can hardly step close to a mortal without an angel beating their wings in fury and self-righteousness. There is little time for trickery, and even littler time for true works of wickedness.

It’s terrible for demons.

But he has a plan.

A trap even an angel can’t resist.

One angel visibly makes herself known. The Angela of Mercy. Her good works are known throughout the lands as the people pray for her blessings. For a divine being, she is lovely.

He will admit that only when looking at her.

“You’re bleeding,” her voice of satin falls like cloth against his skin. He keeps his eyes wide open in mock fear and pain.

“Please, angel,” he begs breathlessly. The mask of a human hides his horns and painted skin. She won’t know who he is until it’s too late. “Help me.”

Upon a lonesome road, between tall trees of the forest, the angel kneels on the dirt to help the hidden demon. Setting her white staff aside, she looks over his reclined form. Her wings betray her slender person with strong, fluffy feathers. They fold against her back with caution as to not touch the ground. Soon enough, he’ll rip the wings off her back.

Patience and time are powerful things. The angel will realize the pain after the deed is done. Her foolishness to trust and give compassion to a demon will be a triumphant in itself, but to kill an angel… That will stir the heavens, and he’ll roam the earth, feasting on weak souls.

“I’ll heal you,” she says, comforting and soft. She believes in the man with a bloody wound in his thigh that Genji has taken as his disguise. 

Her hand takes the back of his head, black hair between her soft fingers, to help him sit up. He looks exceptionally human, with dark hair and brown eyes. That is all she feels as well, when her hand rests on the mock blood he conjured.

There is the warmth of the sun, a terrible, harsh thing, and the warmth of fire, only good when burning things, but her skin is warm. A deep, implausible warm that doesn’t make him want to burn. Her wings lift as light beams from under her palm. The angel heals the injured, lone man.

“You really must be careful,” the angel looks to him, gently letting go of his hair. He sits up on his own, still burning with the imprints of her hands.

“Please, angel,” he begs like a pitiful mortal. “I am still weak with a long journey ahead of me. Others will wish to harm me, and I only wish to go home. Will you help me there?”

The angel raises her gaze. A soft, reassurance of a smile touches her light, pink lips. One hand lifts up to brush back a white gold strand of hair from her eyes, seeing him clearer.

“I’ll help you,” she breathes. “Tell me your name.”

“Genji,” he says, as she helps him to his feet. He stumbles just a little, just to be a little more human. Her hand on his arm is another burning impression.

“Genji, I am Mercy.”

The demon smiles with his mask. He knows who she is.

They still reside on the light side of the world. She is safe here, in the sight of many other angels. His path will lead them to the dark, moonless nights, and far away from the skies. There will be no flights of escape once the trap is sprung.

In a note of surprise, she walks beside him. The staff in her hand keeps in time with their steps. Her wings are upheld with dainty precision as to not let the long, white tips become dirty on the mortal ground. Genji keeps his mask firmly in place. He huffs and struggles and limps. Human, weak and failing.

Mercy doesn’t say many words under the shadows of the trees. She observes, and looks to the makings of the earth as if it is unusual and divine. The urge to roll his eyes into the back of his skull is tempting but he keeps it at bay. Angels make everything out to be better then they truly are. It’s all exaggerated with light and hope that won’t remain.

This journey will be long. He has to lead the angel far away and keep his injurious complaints and stabs at the divine being quiet.

Maybe he can entertain himself some other way.

When the sun begins fading away, their path turns into gold. A stone tumbles away at the kick of the demon’s feet. The silence they once held falls away to the angel’s questions.

Questions about his home, and his family. He lies about the flowers and the soft hill behind his home. The best lies are based on truths, so he adds his brother into the mix. She believes his tale of how much they care about each other.

“Your kindness is endless, angel,” Genji praises on his tongue.

She smiles, graceful and humble. His praise is pushed aside to focus on another question.

“Why do you travel alone?”

Patches of golden light land on their path between the trees. The soft pat of her staff along with their footsteps has fallen to the background of their travel. The demon pauses before he answers.

“I do not trust many,” he breathes out, as if wary. “As you can see, most people are only out for themselves.”

Gesturing to the slight limp from his fake, wounded thigh, a divot appears in the angel’s brow. Her lips part as she tucks a piece of hair out of her face.

“That is a poor way to see other souls.”

Souls. That’s what angels see. Demons see them too, but they’re wrapped in the stinking flesh of cowards and weaklings. Souls are a beautiful thing to creatures like Mercy, and prizes of power to creatures like Genji.

Humans have never looked pretty. Though they share the same form, Mercy holds her soft skin and blue eyes with a light mortals can never hope to touch. It makes her bearable. Perhaps the only angel he can stare at without writhing with disgust.

“They have more than souls,” Genji says, looking to her. “The flesh is hard to forget. It is what makes me weak, and you strong.”  

“Your mortality does not make you weak,” Mercy speaks, holding his eyes when she finds them upon her. “Yes, mortals are prone to temptation and suffering, but there is hope. Hope makes everyone better.”

He almost laughs at such absurdity. Humans are easy to lead to their own destruction, but demons have always orchestrated man’s end. Hope has never saved a man’s soul. The angel is clueless. She does not see their mistakes and fears and weaknesses.

Blind, faithful hope will lead her into her doom.

“I suppose so,” he pulls his voice into deep thought. After all, how can a mere human go against an angel?

“Being cynical is harmful to you, Genji,” Mercy’s voice falls softly. There is true worry in her eyes, and she hasn’t even known this face for a day. “It is easy for a person to take away their own hope.”

A golden path of sunlight peeks through the leaves. In that moment, it lights her face with a heavenly light.

Genji grinds his teeth before soothing out his jaw. Ever persistent, ever optimistic, ever foolish.

He nods his hidden face before looking back down the path.

“You must be tired,” Mercy says, stopping them upon their path. “You will heal faster if you rest.”

Taking to a spot under a few crowded trees, Genji stumbles slightly. Mercy is quick to take his arm in support, holding him with another burning impression of her palm. A soft breeze ruffles her feathers as she helps him sit against the truck of a tree. What a fun game to play, pretending weakness as to make the angel worry over him.

“Did you not heal me, Mercy?” he asks, knowing that if he were mortal, he would still suffer from a limp and loss of strength from such a wound.

“I did, but I did not heal you completely.” She tucks her legs under her as Genji rests his hair against bark. “It is best if angels do not intervene too much.”

Her hands reach carefully, examining the red scar upon pale skin through the tear in his clothing. Light once again dances on her fingertips. The heavenly energy makes the demons squint as she touches his skin. Warm all over again. The mask he wears keep the holy light from burning his true form, but she frowns slightly as she leans away.

“That feels better,” he speaks quietly, as if needing to doze off.

“Good,” her frown disappears. Looking over the wound, she studies it before lifting her gaze back to him. “The pain will be a small thing for now, but I’ll make sure you get home to your brother.”

She shifts, lifting her wings as she moves to a small patch of starlight. The careful hold of her wings never allows her feathers to touch the mortal ground, but she will sit in the grass. Genji stretches out his legs slowly. Beings like themselves do not need sleep, but they can rest. He’ll just enjoy the coddling and fooling of the angel in relative peace tonight.

“It’s okay, Genji,” she speaks, pulling his attention off the long lashes framing her blue eyes and to the present. “I’ll watch over you tonight.”

Her staff rests within reach of her hand. Both of her shoulders rotate slowly, as if stretching ill-used muscles while her wings expand. The white plumages stretch as long as her person, and hold strong as she does.

In one slow moment, the angel’s glory is once again folded against her back.

His lips part, awed, “Humans don’t deserve you.”

He shifts in the darkness. The bark bits into his spine, bringing him away from the alluring sight of Mercy. A curious gaze settles upon him. 

“We mortals don’t deserve angels.”

That’s the truth. Humans have souls, energy like any demon or angel, yet are trapped in sickness and death and suffering. They create most of it. Pathetic beings cry for help when they’ll just turn around to allow a demon close enough to their soul.

It was easy before the jaded harmony the angels brought upon the earth, but now, it’s boring and maddening to watch unworthy creatures gain divine help. They waste it. They are only the charity cases of the angel’s self-righteousness.

A never ending circle of disgust.

“Souls deserve love, Genji,” Mercy speaks, letting her eyes shine in the night like blue stars. “Who do you love?”

He almost answers with nothing before minding his role.

“My brother.” He hopes his expression fits the answer well enough.

Mercy nods, thoughtful. The wind pulls through his hair, tugging at his shirt before it shifts against her white dress and wings. He’s almost glad the wind touches him before her. It carries a piece of him now.

“Even in your angriest moments, you still care for him, no?” she asks. The end of her fluffy ponytail are picked up by the breeze. It falls over her shoulder.

Hardly.

“Of course,” he answers.

“Love is still love, even when everything else is terrible.” The angel’s fingers brush back her hair. Genji’s fist tighten, as if easily feeling the same motion. The silky hair may burn his form with its white gold color.

Love. It’s a lie forged by the angels and chased by the humans. The most selfish, damaging things have been done out of love. She sees only what she hopes to see. Genji has witnessed and dragged and created the lowest of man’s soul across the darkness.

Love is nothing.

“Remember that, Genji,” Mercy shifts, turning away to look up at the stars. “Rest now, you need to heal.”

The demon breathes out slowly. The wind still plays with both of them, but her feathers ruffle up at the motion. He watches her. Even kneeling upon the ground, she is above all else.

“Mercy,” he says, and cannot find the reason why.

“Yes?” she turns, allowing a lock of hair to fall in her eyes.

His voice does not speak again. In the darkness, he presses his head back against the tree truck, and close his eyes. The weight of Mercy’s stare upon him nearly cuts through the mask before it lightens.

This angel is the most blissful creature he has ever come to know. Her faith is admirable, but really, wasted.  

They wake in the morning, and move onwards.

It’s strange. Yes, he knows that Mercy embodies all that is good and holy, but she is gentle when she does not have to be.

Pointing out a flower, they stop for a moment just to smell the curved, lavender edges. He has seen these flowers before. Cupped in her hands, however, makes them softer. She does not pick the petals, or uproot it. It stays behind while they continue forward.

“You should have taken it,” Genji says, somewhat miffed.

“No one else would be able to see it then.” Her wings shake for a moment, as if playful. “Let’s hope we find more flowers along the path.”

There are not pretty things where he is leading her.

“Are your wings heavy?” he asks when the sun hits overhead. The heat is blistering, and would crack mortal flesh.

“No,” she looks to him as a few strands of white gold fall against her face. “They are lighter than anything you can know.”

He believes her.

Her form keeps well with their journey. They don’t have bodies, not like mortals, but they are physical enough to interact with this world. If they were to both strip off their coverings and face each other, they could hurt the other. Demons and angels can easily cause harm to the opposite kind.

The days and nights fall into a familiar pattern. She rests, but does not sleep. When they settle in the darkness, her hands harm his skin. The light is not meant for him but the energy from her palms are lifting. He tricks himself believing he is lighter after her healing touch. She does not leave, or wander away. His eyes only close with the promise of her watching over him.

Being human is terrible. They struggle and have need and sometimes fail. He keeps his limp up until a week passes, and declares her saving grace is truly divine. She only expresses her happiness for his well being. Another reason to mock or scorn the angel, but he keeps his patience under his tongue.

The human mask he hides under his exhausting. When darkness falls and his bones move with a greater strength the angel cannot touch, he wants to hiss and scream. The presence of souls are far from the path he takes Mercy down, but he still wants them. His horns and claws stay away, yet he longs to howl into the darkness.

His nature self is difficult to keep at bay. The management is still done, somehow. 

Mercy’s touch keeps him calm. The mask stays in place, and her watchful wings keep close by. There is a certain hunger in a demon, but she seems to feed him with a new substance. Whenever his eyes linger on her lips, or close eyelids, he curses himself. He will only admit her beauty because it is impossible to deny it. Her soft touch and hopeful view are impossible, but they are somewhat bearable to the demon.

A frustration builds inside his chest. A heavy, crushing presence pushes him to take her quickly. They still have so far to go, but she won’t be able to escape once he has her.

He will destroy the angel’s pretty wings.

He hides his growls and mockery with praises and smiles. Her eyes and faithful explanations only burn him more.

Black clouds move overhead two weeks into their journey. She doesn’t know the significance of their presence, but Genji grows excited.

Each step Mercy takes is away from the light and towards the darkness. His only place of belonging, in a sense. By now, she must know how far they are going, but his simple lies of living so far away are easy for her to believe. Why would a human lie to an angel?

The dark clouds blanket the blue sky, turning it gloomy. It builds until fat raindrops begin drenching his hair.

“Get out of the rain,” Mercy says, taking his arm. “I don’t want you to get cold or sick.”

Her touches are becoming more and more familiar. She is not afraid to be close, or to enjoy the soft breathing of his false slumber. 

Once, just before dawn broke, she touched his shoulder. A simple hand resting on him. She never spoke of it, nor did he stir to confront her. 

It wasn’t new or strange, but the setting was. He almost woke just to demand an answer from her, but he had to hold his tongue. He could not open his eyes to see her expression, but the ghost like touch of fingertips are as warm as she.

He doesn’t reach for her… much. There was one time where she almost stumbled down a rocky patch in the road. Her wings had already expanded to catch her, but his arm snaked around her waist. The scent of honeysuckle burned his nose, and when she turned to look to him, she was only a breath away.

He let her go too quickly.

“Do you not get cold?” he asks as a stupid mortal. The rain is slipping into his cloths and dotting his skin.

“I can, but this form is very durable.” Her smile is a simple reassurance. “I’m only worried about you.”

Selfless, perfect, angel. Of course she’s only worried about him. He keeps his gaze to the clouds instead of rolling his eyes.

She guides him to the better cover of trees but even the leaves are dripping their own tears. It was late enough in the day to stop for the evening anyways, but the storm secures their stay for the night. When Genji settles beside a tree with Mercy, she lets go. A raindrop falls on the very tip of her nose, causing her to blink in surprise.

Genji laughs, throwing his head back.

After a moment passes to cover her grinning lips, she laughs too. It’s much softer and trembles like crystal water over a river bed. Genji has heard many laughs, that of drunk and vengeful men, even demons just before they take a soul, but hers is nothing of this world.

He quietens himself, intent on listening to the rest of her laughter. It comes to an end in a soft trembling of breath. Shaking her head, she looks up to him.

“This isn’t a very dry place,” she comments with the music still trailing through her voice.

“No,” he says, shrugging while her hand wipes the rain from her face, “but I’ll be alright.”

Her brow hardens, unsatisfied as she looks up. Smaller raindrops fill his clothes and hair, but he isn’t the weak mortal he’s fooled her to be. The cold is just there, and his body is just a mask.

“I’ve never had the chance to know… humans,” her voice starts, soft as the grass and leaves.

Genji fixates his stare upon her. A soft expression touches her eyes, too caring and loving all at once.

“What do you mean? You help humans all the time,” Genji says.

They both lean against the same tree, pressing their shoulders into it. Now, the angel’s cheek touches against the bark as her lips part.

“It is usually quick miracles that I preform. I love to heal, and help others.” Her cheeks glow with this talk. “I never get to stay long on this beautiful world.”

The need to roll his eyes or growl at the self-righteous spouting of an angel never comes. He finds himself mesmerized in her words. For once, the angel is speaking of herself.

“But you’re only staying here for so long to help me,” Genji says, narrowing his brow with the confusion of this. He knows angels don’t linger on this world of mortals, but he never thought Mercy would want to be here.

“Yes, but I’m glad.” The corner of her lips press into the tree truck with her smile. “I’m glad to have met you, Genji.”

His limbs still. In the darkness and the rain, her words circle his mind in a howling wind. Like the ocean matching her irises, waves beat back and forth in his brain.

She only sees the mask. If he were a demon before her now, her staff would be held defensively. They would have never spoken, they would never have touched.

He smiles with his mortal face.

“I’m glad to have a guardian angel.”

It may be the light, but Genji swears her eyes darken for a moment. A raindrop hits his cheek, causing him to look up with a disgruntled grimace. Her light returns full force.

“Genji, come here,” she says, lifting away from the tree. He blinks, observing the angel scoot across the grass. Her wings shift as she turns. Silently, she tucks legs underneath her.

“Mercy?” he asks while obeying. He sits beside her in a small patch under the canopy of tree leaves. Raindrops slip through, staining them both.

Mercy lifts her wings. Her limbs stretch out, catching Genji’s gaze as her right wing holds out beside him. The next moment, her wing lifts, holding it carefully over his head. He follows the movement, tilting his head back to see a ceiling of white feathers instead of raindrops and leaves.

“Mercy,” he says, turning his gaze to her beautiful face. “I told you I’ll be okay.”

She only holds herself all the more determined.

“Just rest, Genji. I’ll be watching over you,” Her voice soothes him. A bang of white gold falls into her eyes. Beating her wings for one moment, water falls off the feathers, but she keeps his hair dry.

Genji grits his teeth. Stupid, selfless angel.

He leans forward, filling himself with fury and wraith as to remember why she’s here now. Betraying the heavy pressure in his chest that hurries him to seal the angel’s doom, his fingers take Mercy’s hair. Genji brushes it back, feeling his fingers burn against her soft skin. Her gaze closes when he tucks it behind her ear.

He pulls away. There is no angel or demon. There is just her.

“Thank you,” he says, before burying himself in the grass and away from her ocean eyes. He doesn’t dare look for fear of being washed away. A white wing still holds above him, keeping off the rain.

The angel shivers once in the storm. The demon’s eyes hold to this.

Morning comes, and Genji wakes from his fake slumber. The wing above him still hold strong. The raindrops ohaven’t phased Mercy anymore then last night, but Genji knows that it is getting to her.

“Mercy, rest here, I’ll be back.”

“Genji?” she asks as he stands in the drizzling morning. She lowers her wing as he begins walking away. The light would be yellow and soft if not for the heavy clouds. Her wings press against her back slowly. The feathers don’t hold the liquid or frazzle at the conditions, perfect, as always.

“I will hurry,” he says, already striding into the forest lining the road. Never slowly his pace, he only throws his gaze over his shoulder once to find Mercy curling up under a tree. The selfless angel is tired, not that she would have a mere mortal worry about that.

Slipping from her sight, the demon unveils his disguise. Horns and fangs embrace the raindrops and the cold, frigid air. It does nothing to slow him down as he moves through the shadows and darkness. He’s on the hunt.

He finds a herd of deer first, peacefully grazing before his sword takes the life of a large buck. The rest scatter, knowing the demon will strike again if he so pleases. He uses the same sword to cut the skin from the animal, and works his unholy magic. Shadows turn the tan fur into a beautiful piece of cloth.

Genji finds a bear next. It takes a little longer to kill it, but he hardly struggles with such a mindless creature. The fur is a deep black, and it shines as he takes it for cloth. He throws the fur over his back with the buck skin.

This will be enough. Mercy is shorter then him by a few inches although her wings are large.

He crafts the furs together to create a cloak of bear fur and buck skin. The tan and black patches hold together with warmth, and keep the wind from stealing body heat. The angel won’t freeze before he gets her to her doom.

The shiver that ran along her skin while she kept him dry runs through his mind. It may have spurred on this hunting, but it is not out of empathy that he creates it. The angel will be at her best when she faces her demise.

He doesn’t care for her.

He knows what he still plans to do.

This gift is only for himself.

The mask of mortality slips over his fangs and horns. Genji steps back through the shadows and finds Mercy under the same tree. Announcing his presence, her eyes lift at his approach. Genji puts his palm out when she tries to get up.

“Wait,” he says, pulling the cloak of fur from his back. “Take this.”

Mercy’s gaze becomes bluer as her hands take the animal skins. One palm runs over the black and tan fur. In the essence of the sun, her face lifts to him as he kneels beside her. He doesn’t understand the tension within him until she smiles.

“Genji, how did you get this?” she asks, still leaning against the tree with the furs draped over herself. A blanket for now.

He grins innocently.

“I stumbled upon it.”

The moment before her gaze drops, a grim light touches her eyes. It disappears as she gets to her feet. Genji stands with her, trying to keep his attention slightly bored rather than intent on her pulling the cloak of furs over her shoulders. Her wings lift as she fits the warm blanket onto her person. Black and tan fur drapes over her torso, and her wings shake out.

Holding the ends of the fur over her chest, the angel smiles.

“Are you not cold?” she asks, baring the softest divot of concern in her brow.

“No,” he turns to the road, stepping onto it. “Not under your wing.”

He keeps his eyes set forward on the path that will lead the angel into darkness and doom, instead of how her blonde hair falls against the cloak of furs. It’s strange to see her feathers and the animal skins mix. Like a creation of some strange creature, but it seems fitting. Genji has never came upon such a divine being like Mercy. She doesn’t hold that same sharp, burning light likes the others of her kind do.

She’s soft and warm. Not that he cares for that, but it isn’t something he’s known before.

The wind begins to rise and push against their persons. Mercy doesn’t shiver again. Genji shakes his head at even bothering to notice. The rain keeps falling, but it doesn’t chill his skin. It is only an illusion, for demons don’t feel.

They stop again that night, but Genji insists that Mercy sleep as well. They’re both weary. Mercy only agrees to sleep if he shares the fur cloak with her. The insistence gives him pause, as why would she share when she can keep herself warm just fine? 

Genji gives in, just because an exhausted angel doesn’t stand a fighting chance. He slips against her side to where her arm presses against his. In the fur, he finds a certain warmth encasing her. At least the cloak is preforming its purpose well.

He should hate this. He should wither at the thought of touching an angel. This journey is his, and for the doom of an angel. It is the mask he puts forward. Only human and harmless.

If she knew what he really is, she would have never touched his skin, or spoken softly. This keeps the pressure in his chest ongoing. 

The chilly rain keeps with them. Soft, deep breaths is the only noise as Genji looks up to the clouds. The stars are hidden once again. She finds those little lights enchanting, for whatever the reason. They only keep a pure darkness at bay, nothing more. 

Her cheek falls against his shoulder. Genji stills, looking to the blonde hair hiding her face. She was hiding more weariness then Genji could have guess. He scowls, hating how selfless she acts for what she knows as one, pathetic mortal. 

The darkness keeps with him this night. He cannot fake sleep again. The gentle brush of her breath against his shoulder stays constant. The heavy, pressing weight in his chest builds immensely, and Genji keeps his own lungs in tempo with hers.

This is wrong.

She is wrong.

He breathes out in the drizzling rain.

No. He is wrong.

That is how it is. That is all they will ever be.

Dark and Light.

Genji doesn’t move until morning breaks through the clouds. The steady breathing changes as Mercy lifts her head, her one cheek red as she apologizes. Genji grins, declaring that it wasn’t troublesome at all.

It’s the least he can do.

The fur cloak still stays around her shoulders. The chill in the air is noticeable, although she may think it is just as the seasons changing. The darkness lingers in the morning, and overtakes the sky quickly at dusk. The end is creeping upon the angel. She smiles at him and stretches her wings, unafraid.

Genji convinces Mercy to sleep again the next night. They don’t share the fur coat as Genji says he gets too hot in it. When her eyes close, Genji waits in the night before confirming the deep, gently tempo of her breath.

He slips into the shadows, once again removing his mask. He breathes with his red and black markings, alive. Horns are bared to the darkness, and his grin splits into sharp fangs. When he appears in the land where light doesn’t touch, strength flows through him.

It is a land of despair and demons. Stepping onto black dirt, Genji moves over dark caves and twisted, burnt stumps that might have once been trees. It is part of the mortal world, but inhabited only by the wicked. This is where the angel will be destroyed.

He comes upon a gaping cave leading into the ground. Red light reflects off the walls, allowing a view of the lava as it gives off an orange glow at the bottom. It’s a long fall down, but a quick demise.

“Genji.”

He draws his sword. That voice is one he knows. A dark, long haired demon on the other side of the cave holds a bow. An arrow is aimed at his heart.

“Hello, brother,” Genji grins, baring his fangs. “I thought I would find you here.”

“What is it you want?” he demands. There is very little room for formalities, and Genji finds it like home. The sharpness of his brother could cut mortals in half.

“The angels are about to lose one of their own.” Genji shifts his sword, letting the red light gleam into Hanzo’s eyes before he snarls.

“You can’t kill an angel, two more will take their place.”

Genji holds up his sword as Hanzo lowers his bow. The confidence radiating out of his person is plausible, for Hanzo narrows his brow.

“What are you planning, Genji? You can’t possibly have an angel at your whim.”

He tilts his horns in the light of the lava. The smugness of his person could spill all over the ground.

“Perhaps, brother, you could share some of the glory of the destruction I’m about to bring.” he teases, watching the unmoving expression on the darker demon.

Mercy’s blue eyes fill his mind. Compared to the darkness and the red burning light, it is a cooler thought.

He blinks it away, fixing his demonic grin into place before it falls away entirely. Hanzo’s glare fixes him back in the black dirt. 

“I’m going to bring one here, in four days’ time.” He steels himself now, as if telling himself this as well.

The disbelief on his brother’s face is enough for Genji. He’ll be the first to bring on a wave of death to the angels. Demons will take over the souls of the human once again. 

It will be exciting.

“How are you going to do this?” Hanzo demands. His face markings move like living blood in the red light.

Genji bares his fangs, lowering his sword. That is not the weapon he will use against the angel.

“I already tricked her, brother,” he grins.

He moves into the shadows, keeping the stunned expression of Hanzo well in his mind. His anger will fade away, and once he brings the angel here, Hanzo will be more then helpful in dealing with her. It will spark madness, in both the demons and angels, but it will be undeniable.

Her eyes keep filling his mind, outshining the glaring red. It should be easy to shove it aside. The little visit to his brother should have brought on that vengeance, that hunger for souls and power. 

The thought of his appetite shifting makes him snarl. He has gone too far now to stop the decay of peace. The angel is at his fingertips, even with her light wings and gentle words. 

The mortal mask comes back over his person. A sharp reminder cuts through his skull that if Mercy saw him in his true light, she would be repulsed. He doubts she would even pause in banishing him from the mortal’s land. 

Genji hurries through the darkness, leaving his brother and the demon lands behind. They will come upon it soon enough. The angel doesn’t know such a place, but she will.

Mercy still sleeps as Genji slips back under the tree. Silently, he sits back down against the bark where he was before her rest. Her wings hold carefully off the ground as her hair hides half her face. 

Peaceful... Her image brings him a certain kind of calm. 

In the morning, they continue their journey.

The crushing pressure that once pushed him to be swift in leading the angel away has snuffed out like a small candle in a hurricane. This new weight touches Genji’s lungs like a metal branding iron. Lighter, quick breaths leaves his lips while his focus keeps slipping from their forward journey. 

He takes to asking the angel a question. 

“Why are you called Mercy?”

She shifts her wings. The white feathers fold against the fur cloak she still keeps on her person, much to his secret enjoyment.

“I am the angel of mercy. I heal and strengthen those who are weak.” She turns to him, smiling. “That is why I answered your cries, Genji.”

The light of her face is the energy that comes from her fingertips. White gold hair falls against her cheek. She didn’t stop him before, so he steps closer and tucks it behind her ear.

“I cannot imagine anyone else with me now,” he says. The truth almost burns. Any other divine being is only a blinding, self-righteous half bird. Mercy is not among those he despises.

That burns to think of as well. The priorities of destroying this jaded harmony the angels created doesn’t press against his thoughts as loudly anymore. His attention is otherwise captured, and he hates to admit that it is encased within white feathers.

But she is not those angels. Her laughter is like music, and her eyes are blue and warm. Being in her presence no longer brings the need to scorn such a perfect soul.

“I’ve never expressed my gratitude for you.” Mercy looks ahead for a moment, as if suddenly conscious of the little space between them. “Although our initial meeting was unfortunate, I’m glad to walk this world with you.”

Genji’s brow narrows, looking down the road under the ceiling of leaves.

“You love the mortals, and giving them aid,” he says simply. “I’m happy to help you.”

How strange to tell the truth while holding a lie in front of her face.

Her gaze shifts upon him, light and hopeful, but suddenly dashed with darkness. There is no mistake. Something troubles her.

“Mercy?” he asks, stopping in his tracks. It takes a moment for her to miss his presence at her side before stopping as well. She turns around to him. “What’s wrong?”

She stills. In the forest, she looks to him and then to the trees. Her wings shift with her gaze. The white feathers flare out, holding her with a restless kind of energy.

Suspending him in curiosity, Mercy parts her lips.

“This world is beautiful. It holds so many things, although terrible and wonderful all at once.” Her voice carries like satin. Genji strains to hear it all. “Humans don’t understand this, but to understand joy, you must have pain. One cannot exist without the other. I believe you are the joy of this world.”

The angel’s voice breathes inwards for a moment. Her wings arch behind her back, as if the tips of her feathers want to touch the sky. Genji’s lungs stop, trying to understand what she said.

“Only mortals, only you, can experience love and healing in its full…”

The pull of her lips is upwards, but the drowning ocean in her eyes betrays her bittersweet emotion. It all rests upon him.

““I cannot imagine anyone else with me now.” Her lips could sink ships, or eyes the source of the storm. “I never want to leave you… this…”

A panic seizes him. The fear of never seeing her wings again, or never hearing the impossible but hopeful words becomes painful. He steps forward, not facing the angel. The mask of a human still hides him.

“Then don’t leave.”

The burning touch to his lungs lift with the plea. 

Because he wants her with him.

Because he… he can’t hurt her.

He can’t.

“Genji…” Mercy still holds sadness along her lips. “I am not of flesh and blood, like you.”

His jaw snaps together, to keep the truth trapped away. 

“I know, Mercy, but you can be happy here.” He’s desperate now. “We can go far away, far from any place that wants to keep us confined.”

He can turn this around. He can keep her from the darkness and his own destruction. A new, heavy, sinking sensation drags through his chest now. This is selfish, and he still lies to the angel about the demon in her view, but he’s too close now. He’s too close to her soul. He can’t let go.

He will ruin everything, but her. 

“But, your home, your family,” she begins, wide eyes shimmering.

“They’re not what’s important,” he says.

They never existed to him.

“Mercy.”

Genji offers his hand, feeling both despair and something lighter within him. His fingers wait, and her heavy gaze wavers upon them.

“You said hope makes everyone better,” his voice is nothing stronger then the breeze. “You can give that hope here, now.”

Her eyes lift from his hand, sparkling.

“You’ll go with me?” her voice is as soft as sunlight.

What is he doing? How can he accept her while still fooling her? His being is crumbling away as he shoves aside his own evil. 

A new hunger has grown within him. A longing for her presence, if nothing else. The angel has awaken something Genji has never known, or perhaps, forgotten. A feeling for her warmth, or the softness of her tongue. 

He can let her go now, and forgot his intentions from the start. This entire journey will be only a small mistake. Mercy won’t be harmed. His presence won’t poisons hers anymore. She’ll never be damaged by his lies.

His hand still waits for hers. Painfully, meekly, he can’t give up his only warmth and hope. His nature is engraved in his face and skin. There is no denying himself, but maybe he can keep it a lie.

He will burn for this, but it will be in the flames of the angel’s warmth.

“If you ask me to.”

Mercy’s choice. He’ll leave if she asks to. He’ll stay, for his selfish reasons, and her selfless ones as well.

The angel breathes out softly, holding his gaze. 

There is no doubt, no darkness, when Mercy places her hands in his. Their fingers tighten around the others, a vice that can’t break.

“Go with me, Genji,” her voice commands.

Genji turns away from the dark lands of the demons. His back faces his purpose, and leaves it behind. He’ll wither and never thrive, but he’ll know a little of the hope she speaks of. Her warmth keeps him in a beautiful lie.

“Let us go,” he says, watching her wings ruffle in excitement before she presses against his shoulder. For one moment, her cheek rests upon his collarbone, and he leans his own cheek down to lie upon her hair.

For the briefest moment, there is simply her and him. No lies or mask. For better or for worst.

She asks about his family, making sure this is what he can live with. The simple reassures of his grins puts her to ease. There is no going back for the demon.

He asks about the heavens, the angels. Their rules are different, careful. Demons spend all their energy slipping into the mortal world and stealing souls of those who are weak and foolish. The goal is simple.

Mercy speaks about divine intervention. The little miracles and acting as a guardian has a limit. As she said before, joy cannot exist without pain. They keep the balance of those two as to allow the mortals the fullness of life.

It is partly why she wants to come upon this world, Mercy confesses with a soft breath. Her fingers tighter around his. There is no true experience like that of the humans.

There is light upon her features when she says, “They create their own love.”

Genji snorts at that, earning her raised brow.

“Sorry, but you know that I’m pessimistic about such things,” Genji says.

“Oh, I do.” The angel purses her lips in thought, holding up their entwined hands, “but you seem to like to prove yourself wrong.”

He almost snorts again, but resorts to a grumble, causing her to laugh. The demon hiding as a mortal point would not go over well.

Although, he pauses to think of the creation of such an emotion. Perhaps it’s time he stop denying what he’s giving in to. Mercy is the only one to show it to him. 

Curse him for thinking so, but she is giving it as well.

He keeps his gaze from her lips. There is very little time to entertain those thoughts.

“Mercy, will you be alright?” Genji asks. Mercy’s choice is just as dangerous for her and it is him. “Will this world affect you?”

He glances to her wings. They are folded gently across her back, but flap at his attention.

“I will be subject to everything you are subjected to, but I will embrace it.” The determined curve of her brow holds no argument. “I know joy and pain, but to experience both will be something I can’t imagine… at least, before.”

Genji exhales, noting that her hand squeezes his to puncture the end of her sentence. Turning his head away, he tightens his jaw while staring at the trees. The angel is going to torture him to accepting the truth, isn’t she?

“I find that quite baffling,” he loosens his mouth, speaking bluntly, “as I’m a lowly man and you are still beside me.”

“Lowly is not what I think when I look at you,” Mercy says, earning his curious gaze. “Handsome, confident, maybe a little too cynical, but you are willing to improve.”

His unamused expression causes a smile to break free from her lips.

“I’m glad I’m at least tolerable for you,” he deadpans, earning the angel’s laugh.

“Genji,” she breathes, “I find you beautiful.”

Beautiful. The word doesn’t click into place with his image, but hers… every synonym of the word encompasses her person. There is no need to say that fact, but Genji parts his lips.

“A being of unearthly grace and white gold hair is calling me beautiful,” his distrust in that statement is evidence enough. “You must not have seen yourself.”

She shakes her head, humoring him, “I have seen myself actually, in the reflection of a lake.”

He pauses, envious for one moment of a body of water.

“How honored the lake much have been,” he declares.

Along the path, their steps move into sync. The angel looks to the hidden demon, unimpressed.

“You are terribly flirtatious with me,” she says.

“How can I not be? You are the loveliest thing I’ve ever seen.”

One of the few realities Genji keeps to, causes the smallest brush of blush onto Mercy’s cheeks. He stares at the sight before she turns her head. What was once crushing pressure in his chest, now turns to a lighter warmth. It can only her doing.

“Terrible,” she reaffirms, now facing him with cooler cheeks.

“But not a lie,” he grins.

Their journey is still the same through the trees, but they walk together, and in a different direction. The trees hold them with a new brightness and shade. A balance shifts in the dark and light of the world, or at least, within two of its energies.

He isn’t afraid to be with her anymore. The soft imprints of her fingers against his hand is damning, but warm. Physical touch is a necessity he’s never known before, but it awakens into the energy that’s been burning into his chest the last few weeks. A softer emotion that simply loves being close to Mercy.

Only holding the angel’s hand and he’s already gone mad with sappiness.

No one else makes him feel as crazy, he supposes.

Their backwards travel feels lighter, and swifter, but darkness still falls. Just as the last of the sun fades behind the dense trees, voices rise up between the shadows. Genji stops Mercy, and they both listen to the noises of men.

“Let’s pass by quickly,” she murmurs, “they won’t bother us if we hurry.”

“Wait,” he still holds onto her hand. They both know the men that lurk here are not the souls Mercy speaks fondly of. They travel along the borders of the demon lands, hoping for a deal with a devil. Bringing souls unto demons who sweet talked them into doing so, they want he power of such an entity in return. More often than not, those bringing sacrifices will be sacrificed themselves. Demons have no loyalties, after all.

“Hide your wings,” he urges, moving behind Mercy. The fur cloak still hangs on her shoulders, but Genji lifts it up. Understanding his direction, Mercy tucks her wings flat against her back. Their length and size makes it difficult to conceal, but as Genji drapes the fur cloak over her wings and person, her feathers hide like a pack. Odd, especially for her size, but passable.

“I’ll stay in their sights,” Genji says, moving their position on the road so his person is closer to the loud humans. Before he can part his lips again, Mercy slips her staff into her other hand and away from hungry eyes.

“We must hurry,” Mercy whispers, “They are servants of demons.”

“I know,” Genji says, taking her hand once again. If he wasn’t a fool, he would use his dark powers to simply slip them around this band of mortals, but his secret still stands in front of her face.

Genji brings himself to his full height, and attempts to tuck Mercy into his side as much as possible. The trouble of her wings give her size and attention while hidden under the fur cloak. Bracing himself, he waits for her nod to continue forward. The path bends around a rough, darker part of the forest. Off the side of the road, a band of nine men settle in to a makeshift camp. They somehow missed them on their way down, but have the unfortunate luck of finding them now. 

Mercy squeezes his hand, most likely to give him reassurance but that only tenses him more. There is the essence of darkness in their beady eyes and gnarled fingers. Genji sweeps his gaze over their traveling camp quickly. The vile men aren’t spared Mercy’s glance.

“Hey,” a gritty voice calls. Genji turns his head, hard stare focusing on the voice. Mercy keeps their pace steady, whispering his name.

“You two are awfully deep in the forest,” another voice rises. Genji doesn’t look away, keeping his eyes on the men while they begin getting to their feet. Their camp is only a few yards along the road, but they are only halfway across the path.

“A husband and wife taking a stroll, hmm?” another man with dirty hair cackles. He is edging closer to the road. Two others are walking at their back now.

Mercy turns her gaze now as well, cooling them with her oceans. These men of demons will know she and him are not meager sheep.

“What a pretty thing you have there,” a man with black teeth steps directly into their path. The white staff Mercy carries shifts defensively in her hand as they are forced to stop. A glint of metal reveals a knife in the man’s grip.

Genji grinds his teeth, knowing that the pretty thing he speaks of is not the fur cloak. Their held hands tighten, before they let go. Carefully shifting, they brace their stances.

“It would be wise to let us pass,” Genji speaks, planting his form. Out of the corner of his gaze, Mercy looks to their backs, watching his.

The two men behind them slowly encircle them. The rest of the gritty people stay in the camp, watching with dark, intrigued eyes.

“We could use them for a little bit, before.” One of the men behind them speaks up, but not too them. “They’re both pretty, demons will take easily to their souls. But,”

Genji turns his head, feeling a building fury just underneath his skin. The breath of Mercy against his shoulder keeps him there.

“The woman looks soft, and the man will scream plenty.”

Genji snaps on his feet, all but snarling at the greasy mortal who looks upon the angel with such lust. The vice of his heart is easy to see. He lunges forward, catching his jaw by his knuckles. The man stumbles backwards, holding his jaw before falling in the dirt.

This isn’t all his power. He can shift now, he can pull his sword free and do away with all of these filthy creatures. They are nothing, they know not what they tamper with. The thought of one of those grimy fingers touching Mercy’s cheek gives his blood a boiling rage.

Before someone shouts, before the man with the knife lifts his hand, before Genji can take on the other person, a snap of feathers fills the air. The cloak of fur falls off her shoulders as her wings stretch to the skies. Arms wrap around his chest. Nothing separates the angel and the hidden demon before she flaps her wings. 

In only seconds, they are gone from the forest path and far above the pitiful images of those vile men. 

Genji can’t breathe. He stares at the forest from above the treetops, blinking rapidly at the air. Mercy’s breaths and wing flaps touch his hair, bringing cool wind. Dusk leaves them alone among the faded stars in the skies.

He trusts her. Upon the skyline, between night and day, the angel carries him away. There is no fear. Mercy will not give him up. The sight lets him close his eyes. He breathes with her heat against him as the wind feeds him the lies he’s given to himself. The angel proves the tales she speaks of. Joy and love can exist, and be created.

She created such things. She’s shown it on her fingertips against his lying skin.

The trees open, and Mercy gently descends with him in her arms. The wind that once soared with them now dies as they comes back to earth. In a few, steady beats of her wings, Mercy touches Genji’s feet gently to the dirt. Her arms stay as she slowly adjusts herself to his back instead of along his shoulders. There is no space between his spine and her heart as she simply gasps for air along his shoulder blade.

“Mercy,” he begs, holding his hands over hers. “Mercy, are you alright?”

It takes a beat for her to swallow and breathe.

“I’m alright… I’m scared for you.”

Curse. Curse her selflessness. Curse her kind heart.

He turns in her arms, finding her expression tight and drawn with the worry of a lover. Her shoulders heave. Her wings hold at her back, slightly loose, as if ready to take off again. The bright gaze of her eyes overtake the stars as she looks to him. His hands cup her cheeks, finding no marks besides of her fear.

“I’m okay, I’m okay,” he murmurs. A moment of rage threatens to take his vision before he blinks his gaze upon her. That will be dealt with later.

“Genji,” she almost cries, “Genji…”

Her hand cups his neck, and pulls him into her. Without hesitation, his arms wrap around her waist. The effort of their escape shakes her limbs but does nothing to stop the movement of her wings. White feathers engulf his sides, sealing them in a safety of her embrace. Slowly, her hand shifts into his hair, gripping the black locks.

“Mercy,” he hushes into her ear, echoing off her feathers. “I won’t let anything happen to you. Please, it’s okay.”

His begging comes from inside of him. A heartache that erupts at her trembling fingers against his skin and her concern.

“I know,” she breathes.

Her cheek presses against his throat. The top of her head places white gold against his jawline. His embrace is what she seeks, so he keeps his arms tight against her waist. She feels natural, as if his arms where meant to hold her. The cover of her wings hides them away. Out of the terrible and damaged world and into their haven.

“There is as much wickedness and there is kindness.” Her words slip against his shoulder. “You are part of that kindness.”

She’s wrong.

She is the source of that kindness, not he.

A soft shush falls from his mouth and into her hair. The angel turns her lips, pressing them against his throat for a moment as her wings lift. The starry sky covers them now. She doesn’t let go, but shifts to hold his gaze.

“I know you don’t believe me,” her satin voice takes him by surprise, “but I know it’s true. Maybe in time… you’ll see this too.”

Genji shakes his head, unable to hold this.

“You don’t understand how much you’re saving me.” 

This confession... he’ll say this. Nothing more. A smile breaks the mask of fear on her lips. She holds his cheek which looks like pale human skin, not the dark patterns and horns of a demon.

“I would have done it again,” she says, still focused on the men who worship his kind.

A sudden frown comes to her face.

“I lost the fur cloak.”

In the blue night, nothing covers her shoulders save for the white dress. Genji almost laughs, if not so weighted down. Her speed and flight gave little hold to the fur as she grabbed him and took to the skies.

“It’s okay, lovely,” he soothes, still standing within her arms. “That is replaceable.”

She breathe softly, soothing out her brow inch by inch until she isn’t crowned with worry. Slowly, her hands release his hair but fall to hold around his neck. Genji feels her warmth just above his real skin, touching his mask. Temptation takes him. He lets go and the current takes him away in her river.

He tightens his hold on her waist. The stars glow in her eyes as she moves with him, standing onto her tiptoes. Not even the night can steal the color of her lips. A soft breath of trust and longing brushes both demon and angel lips.

There is a heaven, just not above the mortal’s reach. He holds the celestial body of stars and suns. Honeysuckle bleed onto his teeth and tongue. Her wings lift, as if filled with the energy to soar. It’s slow and tender, and the angel gives her kiss away with absolutely care. He’s hungry, desperate and wild. The next, her tongue teases his teeth, and a peace settles against his chest.

Maybe there is salvation, but only through her.

They part, and the angel is quietly breathing. Her fingers brush up the back of his neck and play with the ends of his hair. The softer sensation trickles his skin. Genji’s eyes move over her like the morning sunrise. He lifts one hand from her waist, cradling her cheek with a tenderness he has never given until now. It was never thought of being within his capability.

“You need to rest,” she murmurs, moving her jaw against his palm. Ever caring, ever angelic. A smile still lingers on her lips, the very same that he has kissed.

He mirrors her expression, “So do you.”

Her eyelids fall slowly, leaning into his hand before nodding. Her hands fall from his neck and takes his from around her waist. Linking fingers, leads him to the shelter of a tall tree. 

“We’ll be safe here. I’ll know if anyone is coming upon us.” Mercy says, ruffling her wings. He still holds a soft expression to his mouth, unable to pick apart or remark negatively about angels.

He settles against the grass, pressing his back against the bark. Offering his arms, Mercy’s heavenly light beams for both of them. Her hand slips into his waiting fingers as she kneels to the ground. Quietly, he slips his arm under her wings, warm by the sudden feathers as she lays against his chest.

“You’re warm,” he says, finding the words suddenly loosen from his tongue.

A soft laugh leaves her throat.

“Then you’ll be warm, too.”

His lips search, finding her hair and temple in the night. A soft, trembling kiss touches her skin. Perhaps she doesn’t know how much he is unworthy to give her love. Perhaps it doesn’t matter to her.

Perhaps he can lie to himself.

He’s always had a need for souls, but not just one. Not just to adore and to kiss and to hope that the one soul looks to him with light. The strangest sensations continue to slip under his ribs and move his center. 

She falls asleep before he does. Gentle breaths and heavy wings give her away.

Genji’s eyes gives away to redness. Those men are still nearby, lusting and mocking. His true skin moves with him as his anger roars. The darkness is a heavy blanket, but he waits for the stars to inch across the sky until she’s deeply asleep.

The demon shifts the angel gently, placing her among the grass. She stirs, but doesn’t open her eyes. Her wings are open upon her back, blanketing her with white feathers. One finger brushes the hair from her face, before the demon leaves her be.

Unveiling his sword, Genji moves along the shadows. They feel strange surrounding him but obey his command. The camp still lies along the road where the filthy men sleep. This is his world, not theirs. They have no comprehension of a true devil. They don’t know the fear in the shadows.

He comes upon them. A hunter finding a sleeping deer. They don’t stir as his footsteps are silent. His sword comes free with a ring of metal. It excites his center, bringing back that need of souls. Theirs are too ruined but the thought of taking a pure one makes Genji bare a fang splitting grin.

The first man lies on the ground, only a blanket between him and the cold dirt. Genji raises his blade above his head. They threatened, mocked the angel. That is the last regret they’ll live.

On the man’s body is a fur skin. A strange one, as it has patches of black bear fur and the tan hide of a deer.

Mercy’s cloak.

Genji stops, nearly growling to himself.

She may be cold without it, and these fifthly things stole his gift after forcing their quick escape.

His fingers shift on the hilt of his sword. Slowly, he squeezes his weapon with a slow exhale. Then, he slips in back into its scabbard.

The angel has truly ruined him. He already pledge himself to her cause, and her. He can’t kill around her mission of greater good, she’ll get upset. Even if these dirt belly creatures have no right existing.

Ripping off the cloak, the man stirs. Stepping back, Genji folds the fur over his arm and watches the man’s terror for a moment. He looks in the darkness throughout the camp. He can’t see the demon just beside him, but Genji enjoys the squirming of flesh.

Satisfied, to say the least, Genji moves the shadows to travel through them, but his body comes to a halt. His gaze sweeps over the camp again. Red irises suddenly search sharply.

There are only eight tainted souls here. There was nine that was seeking his and Mercy’s blood.

They didn’t fly far away enough. A blood lusting man knew the angel he saw. What a prize it would be to deliver a divine being to a demon.

Mercy sleeps alone, with her back and wings exposed to any sharp blade.

Genji swears as he travels through the shadows. A rage fills his chest, begging its release with his sword through a mortal heart. The mask of a human slips over his person just as he steps back into the small clearing. 

Dark, greasy hair hangs over Mercy. A dagger holds in both his hands, ready to thrust downwards between her wings.

“Mercy,” he cries out, running. The cloak is forgotten. 

Her eyes open as her wings snap. Finding a knife aimed at her spine, she dives away, flapping her feathers. The man starts at Genji’s appearance but still swipes at her back, missing by mere inches.

“Ah!” the man cries out, desperate. He stumbles as he swipes his knife at Mercy’s wings. The white feathers struggle to gain distance. His footsteps give away his fast approach, and the man turns on Genji.

Rage and a newfound fear sends Genji into lunging at the man. Mercy screams him name as the man’s knife glints in the night. In defense, he raises his dagger just as Genji grabs him. Feathers flare out in stark panic.

The man stabs it through the hollow of Genji’s throat. The sharp end juts out of the back of his neck at an upwards angles. Falling on top of the man, Genji lets out a growl. It echoes in his chest with demonic cords. Pain drips through his body, clouding his vision into only focusing on the greasy, dim eyes of the man who almost hurt her.

Unveiling his sword while destroying part of his mask, Genji straightens. The man lies pinned underneath him, eyes wide at the knife piercing through Genji’s neck and the horn on the corner of his jaw.

“Great demon,” he begs, “give me mercy.”

Genji lifts his sword. The dark red blood of a demon spills from his lips when he speaks.

“No.”

His blade cuts through his neck. The filthy man never makes a word, as he is mortal, and his blade his sharp. The death is quick. It shouldn’t have been. Genji should have dragged him to the land of the demons and fed him to the pits of lava one inch at a time.

“Genji,” Mercy says, but is spoken in a still, frightened manner. 

The blade is bloody. Pain still strikes in his throat, building up in his mouth with the signs of his demonic person. If he were mortal, he would be dead like the greasy man he stands away from. Demons are hard to kill, even when they take physical forms.

But it hurts. He hasn’t felt pain like this in sometime.

He turns, facing the angel. Between the darkness of the trees, the first pale gray rays of morning begin to peek out. She stands along this horizon, clutching her staff. There is no one emotion to pin, for her wide eyes flicker through fear, bewilderment, repulsion and betrayal all at once.

His sword. She’s never seen it before. It must frighten her with the red on it. He drops it, stepping forward once. The attempt to speak is blocked by the small fountain of dark red blood falling out of his mouth. The knife piercing his throat is more troublesome then he had anticipated. He can’t speak, but gargles words.

Any mortal would be dead now, due to this. In her eyes, the demon stands with blood staining his lips and a mortal wound. Too bad he’s not mortal.

He tries again, reaching out to her to explain, but the noises in his throat echo like death.

Mercy raises her staff. Pointing the white wood at his chest, he stops.

“Reveal yourself.”

A hard divot settles into her brow. Her jaw trembles, and her eyes waver with a deep shine. The demand still hangs between them.

Not like this. After everything he’s given, every lie and promise, he has to crumble to her reaction and truth now. The crushing pressure he’s come to know returns, but with a different weight. It’s not of denying his feelings, it’s of losing the presence of her person.

It was inevitable, but he loves lying. He loves believing that he could have stayed hidden before her and her never knowing the truth. He loves believing that she would somehow love a demon. He loves believing he could have ever had the angel.

“Genji,” she says, cold as stone but wavering like a black wave, “if that is your name. Reveal yourself.”

There is no more lies. He is absolutely at her judgement.

He slips the mask off. The red markings of a demon come upon his skin, swirling in their demonic designs. Horns angled on the edges of his jaw and temples jut out sharply. His irises gleam red in her ocean. Blood still spills out his mouth, staining his fangs with the natural hue of demons.

She caves. The brow that once was hard in sharp command now falls to aching sorrow. Genji wants to look away. He doesn’t. This is his punishment. Her free hand moves to her bottom lip, brushing it as if remembering their kiss. The one he asked for, and the one she gave.

The rivers of her irises blink away, giving into little streams down her cheeks.

The pain inside his throat grows. Blood tastes like iron on his tongue as he stands without purpose. The dagger resides in his throat, if only a sign of how much he regrets her sadness.

He tries to say her name, to beg for her forgiveness, but iron gives away to darkness. The wound takes its toll, and Genji falls to his knees.

He hopes he never wakes.

For some time, there is blissful darkness. The shadows is his home. He can never be without them.

It burns now. A cleansing fire attacks his skin. It’s enough to make him lift heavy eyelids for a moment, but the angel’s expression is too hard to bare. He slips back down to the darkness. The angel will destroy him. In her selfless, kind ways, she’ll make it quick.

He accepts her judgement.

The burning stop. He breathes out, but dares not open his eyes. For one, delusional moment, he dreams he’s in her arms. The pain is gone. She is still with him, watching over him. Her fingers brush through his hair gently. Still in love with his lies.

The darkness keeps him in suspension. No pain or joy. It is not better to feel nothing then to feel the ache?

He’d give it all, just to be in her gaze without the sadness of his sins washing her away.

The darkness can’t keep him save now. He can’t linger anymore.

He has given so much fear, he has never had it placed in his own rib cage before. It’s pathetic, insulting. Yet, he is slow to open his eyes.

It is morning again. The sun barely shines upon the grass where he lies. A fur cloak covers his person. Genji swallows, pondering the suddenly free movement of his neck. He turns his head, believing the angel left him to his own despair when he finds her.

Mercy kneels in the grass a few feet away from him. The left side of her person faces him, outlining the hunched form of her wings and shoulders in the rising dawn. Her eyes only stare forward while keeping his form in the corner of her sights. Her white gold hair falls against her cheek.

The ability to speak is well within his grasp, but a quiet acceptance has overtaken his tongue. The angel will pass her judgement, and he will do nothing but take it.

“I wondered before…” her voice breaks the silence like glass shattering. “You were so eager, so quick to praise me. The place you told me you wanted to go was close to the land of the demons.”

Nothing moves. Genji’s own lungs stay still.

“You disappeared in the night and came back with a newly made animal skin. I wondered… I saw the signs of a demon.”

Her staff lies in her lap. Twisting fingers grip it so tightly her knuckles turn white.

“But you spoke honestly about your view of the world. You gave me a gift when it wasn’t truly needed. You listen to me. You encouraged me to keep to my good works.”

He already wants to beg. The satin of her voice is too soft. How could he ever remember it fully?

“You suddenly turned me away from a certain doom. You held my hand. You touched my hair. I covered you with my feathers and my kiss…”

She exhales, suppressing the sob in her shoulders. The only emotion left within him is the sharp, kindling regret burning himself.

“I didn’t want to believe that you were… are… I didn’t want to believe this was a lie.”

She straightens, holding her wings with sharp tension. Turning her head, her eyes fall upon him like a sword. Genji cannot blink in her gaze.

“Was it all to hurt me, to entertain yourself? Explain, Genji—No, I don’t know what your name is, do I?” Her voice falls flat, unfeeling, yet her lips still tremble.

He holds her accusing gaze. He bares her fury and sorrow. Slowly, Genji pushes the fur cloak off and gets to one knee. The angel reacts in turn, stepping to her feet and pointing the end of her staff at his chest. Her stance is only defensive, ready to react to his move.

“My true name is Genji,” he begins, unable to start elsewhere. “Mercy…”

The hard set of her eyes is not the angel he’s known, but he has not seen her expression of betrayal before. There is no room for hope, or for forgiveness, but Genji kneels before her. The altar of her dress, and the shadow of her temple keeps him bowing.

“You say that hope makes everyone better—”

The pressure of her staff against his chest is sharp, focused.

“Do not use my words against me,” Mercy’s anger flows, burning his skin. “You have no right, demon.”

“Then kill me,” he snaps. He jerks his chin, facing the angel. Her expression stills at the sudden cry but he does not hold his tongue.

“Kill me, or let me explain as you have asked,” Genji speaks, keeping his voice level.

The oceans crash in her eyes, but she doesn’t blink. Her silence is permission.

_It is easy for a person to take away their own hope._

Her words bloom in his mind. She still stands before him, and he has no other need but of her.

He won’t take his own hope away.

“Hope makes everyone better,” he speaks again slowly. “I fully intended to steal you away to the lands of the demons and destroy you.”

Her brow hardens, Genji doesn’t pause.

“There was a jaded harmony all around me that I only longed to break. The angel that came to me in my plan of destruction was you. You walked with me. The softness of your voice swayed me inch by inch. Your wings kept me dry. I have never felt warmth until your palms touched my skin.”

He is almost breathless as he continues.

“I did not know kindness, or gentle movements. There was never such a thing as care or protection. Mercy…”

The brow upon the angel’s face begins caving. Trembling lips give away to soft breaths. The end of her staff presses harder into his chest. He still kneels before the angel.

“You have given me hope, Mercy.”

White gold hair hides her away before she brushes it quickly aside. Straightening, Mercy tries to keep her expression without anger or pain.

“You lied. You hide from me.” Her accusations are sharp as her voice becomes thick with emotion.

“I know. I know… but if I came to you like this,” Genji gestures to his horns and fangs, the markings of a dark being. “Would you have even let me speak a word before you banished me?”

Her expression shifts, harder, uncertain. 

“That doesn’t justify your actions,” she says, letting a note of emotion touch her throat, 

“I know,” he gives. “I know, but I know we both found something we never intended to here.”

The silence is damning, but so is he.

“Mercy,” he begs, “I want nothing but your forgiveness.”

The truth almost burns his tongue but he can’t lose his hope.

“Tell me to leave, and I will,” he begs, “Kill me, and I will not resist.”

She closes her eyes, furrowing her brow as her hair falls freely.

“You healed me, even as you see my true self,” he whispers.

He touches his throat and the faint, silver scar that forever holds the angel’s healing. Genji refuses to give in to the ease of letting her slip away, of letting this die. Something within the angel sees something worth saving within the demon.

“Mercy, I can’t hurt you again.”

The angel’s eyes lift. One drop of water falls from the ocean of her eyes. Her staff lowers from his chest, until it falls from her hand entirely.

“I still find you so beautiful,” she breathes. 

The softest steps echo from her feet as she comes to him. The weight of her sorrow and the glimmer of warmth spreading throughout his ribs almost tears him apart. Her wings ruffle as she stands before him. Begging, on his knees, he offers his hands. A sinner at the whim of the saint. In the river of her eyes, she dips him into the healing liquid that is only of her being.

He begs. He begs for her forgiveness.

Her hand slips into his. Kneeling, Mercy sits before him. The warmth of her fingertips overwhelms the raging battle inside.

His apologies flood his tongue. There is no real way to undo what he’s done to her. The slow movement of her hand gives that away, but she still takes his cheek. Her pinky finger touches a red horn along his jaw. Instead of deep revulsion, she only holds his gaze.

Slowly, her words come into his senses. Soft and reassuring, even as he wants to fold himself in half and grovel at her feet. Their meaning pierces through the fog of his ruined mind until he hears his salvation upon satin.

One, warm finger brushes his cheek. Her soft motion startles him into silence.

“I forgive you,” she breathes, for the hundredth, maybe thousandth time.

He shakes his head, still against her gentle palm.

“I’m sorry, Mercy,” he utters again and again.

She shushes him. Though her eyes are tight with emotion and still hesitance, she kisses his wet eyelashes. His hand slips to her hair. The white gold falls between his fingers as her softness envelopes him.

“Why?” he asks, begs.

She holds his gaze, unmoving as her thumb rubs his cheek.

“You have given me hope as well, Genji.”

He doesn’t believe her. He doesn’t believe her for a long time.

That night, she doesn’t let him hold her. He doesn’t pry, but stays awake because of the monstrous men lurking. Her wings hide her form his view until the sunrise. There are tears against her cheeks.

She lets him wipe them away.

The fourth night, she lets him hold her. They fall sleep under a tree. When the morning sunlight wakes them, Genji’s apology fall from his tongue.

She tells him again. He doesn’t believe her.

They leave behind the forest bordering the land of the demons. Mercy takes Genji to a panicked woman, round with a child in her womb. Staying with the angel, Genji hides his horns and flesh for the mortals she helps. He views her careful work as she heals the woman’s husband from a body burning illness. Her wings inspire the humans. Then, he assists Mercy in the birth of the child, although it is quiet disgusting to him.

They continue on, moving in the sunlight and shadows. The cry of the mortals is strong, and Mercy doesn’t refuse their pleas. Genji keeps his word, staying with the angel among the human dirt.

He grows to not be afraid to take her hand without first looking to her. The soft lips of the angel become familiar against his demonic face. Her wings know his touch, again and again.

The earth needs Mercy. Genji finds her lovelier as she heals and cares for the humans. As meek as they are, her words turn him to see the goodness of their souls. It is their purpose now.

When the news of their own child comes to his ears, Genji falls to his knees. He asks forgiveness. This is nothing of his worth, nothing deserving of his person. Yet, Mercy touches his hair with weeping joy. More hope blooms within his chest because of the heavenly figure before him.

The angel of Mercy is still his love. In the light and dark, they know each other.

She tells him again.

“You have given me hope as well, Genji.”

He believes her.  

**Author's Note:**

> Please R&R, dolls! It helps me out a lot ♥


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